Category Archives: Image of God

Orthodoxy on the fall, depravity and free will

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The Orthodox view is expressed in this note in The Orthodox Study Bible:

‘Mankind’s strong propensity to commit sin reveals that in the Fall, the image of God in man (Gn 1:26, 27) is also fallen. However, the ancient Fathers emphasize that the divine image in man has not been totally corrupted or obliterated. Human nature remains inherently good after the Fall; mankind is not totally depraved. People are still capable of doing good, although bondage to death and the influences of the devil can dull their perception of what is good and lead them into all kinds of evil.’

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Deification

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‘Deification’ (Gk. ‘theosis‘) is a term widely used in Eastern Orthodox theology for the process by which God’s grace transforms believers into his likeness.  It involves belief that grace reverses the effects of the Fall, and confers on the believer the ‘divine’ attributes of incorruptibility and immortality.  But

‘its central tenet is that God through the Incarnation of his Son has called men to share the Divine life in the Son.’ (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, art.

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Genesis 1:26 – Why a plural name for God?

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Gen 1:26 – ‘Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness”.’

Much has been made of the plural name for God here (‘Elohom‘) and of the expression ‘Let us make…’.  A number of interpretations have been proposed:-

Polytheism.  But modern commentators agree that Genesis 1 ‘is distinctly antimythological in its thrust, explicitly rejecting ancient Near Eastern views of creation. Thus modern commentators are quite agreed that Gen 1:26 could never have been taken by the author of this chapter in a polytheistic sense.’…

‘A better story’ – 12

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Our ‘better story’ for sex and marriage begins as we are welcomed into God’s reality.

Five truths underpin this.

1. God has spoken.  We no longer have to strive to construct our our ‘reality’.  God has spoken in his Son and in his Scriptures.

2. We are God’s creatures.  This is his reality, not ours.  Our nature and purpose need to be understood in the light of our creaturely dependence on him.

3. We flourish when we work with the grain of God’s reality. …

Do we meet Christ in everyone?

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, recently put it like this in a Tweet:-

‘Each of us is made in the image of God. That’s why we have the chance to encounter Christ in every person we meet – especially those on the margins.’

It’s an attractive thought, and one that seems to be becoming increasingly popular.  But it involves some rather loose thinking, because we can agree wholeheartedly with the premise (‘each of us is made in the image of God’), while observing that the conclusion simply does not follow (‘that’s why we have the chance to encounter Christ in every person we meet’).…

Aspects of our likeness to God

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Moral aspects

  • We are morally accountable to God.
  • We have an inner sense of right and wrong
  • We are capable of behaviour that is holy and righteous before God

Spiritual aspects

  • We have immaterial spirits
  • We have spiritual capabilities that enable us to relate to God in prayer, praise and so on
  • We have immortality

Mental aspects

  • We are capable of rational thought far in advance of any animal
  • We are capable of complex language far in advance of any animal
  • We have an awareness of the distant future; of eternity, indeed
  • We are capable of creativity in areas such as music, art, and literature
  • We are capable of rich and complex emotions

Relational aspects

  • We are capable of deep and complex relationships
  • We are capable, in marriage, of reflecting the relationship between Christ and the church
  • We have been given authority over the rest of creation, and will even judge the angels

Physical aspects

  • Our physical bodies reflect the character and purpose of God, even though he himself is immaterial
  • Our ability to produce children who are like ourselves reflects God’s ability to create human beings who are like himself

Based on Grudem, Systematic Theology

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The Great Commission and the Cultural Mandate

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Does the Great Commission of Mt 28:18-20 supersede the cultural mandate of Gen 1:26-28?  Does the command to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ replace the requirement to fill and subdue the earth and to rule over all living things?

At first sight, it might seem that this is indeed the case.  After all, the cultural mandate was given to Adam in Eden, as God’s image-bearer, in a state of innocency, prior to the Fall.  …

Men and women in the image of God

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Donald Macleod has some perceptive things to say on this subject:-

It is crucial to our understanding of this whole issue to remind ourselves that this statement is not made about any other creature, only man. We seem to have inherited the idea that the angels are somehow superior to man, but the angels are never said to be made in the image of God. They are servants of the redeemed. All the biblical indicators point to the conclusion that man is the apex of God’s creation, not only in the physical and terrestrial sphere, but also in the spiritual realm.
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The image of God

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‘Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…”  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.’ (Genesis 1:26-27)

Scripture asserts (in Gen 1:26-27; Gen 5:2; Gen 9:6 and elsewhere) that God has made man in his own image.

What does this mean, and what has become of God’s image in man?  The doctrine can be unpacked in the following stages.…